Another "great" Lowes experience.

[gchappel]

I go to Lowes- and find a lightning fixture that I like hanging on the display.
Simple LED 4ft fixture for the garage.
I ask the salesman which model it is, as the display is not labelled.
We finally figure out which model it is, he looks it up on his phone and says none are in stock.
I look at the rack, and low and behold there are two of them sitting there. I need 6.
I ask if I could order 4 more. No, because they are a stock item we cannot order more.
They have 2 more coming in this week. He could not tell me how I could get 6.
I asked for a manager. He found 6 in a store an hour away- but they will not ship to my local store. No they will not order additional stock even if I prepay. No they can not tell me when more are coming in.
I go home, click on Amazon and 6 will be here in two days.
This is crazy.
Gary

[GH85Carrera]

I love Amazon just for that type of BS.

I got to a store and look for an item. They have boxes of the item next it it in a different color or different size, but none of the one the sell lots of. If they sell the heck out of one item, why not order more and keep it in stock?

Same with some OTC medications. I want a bottle of a certain allergy pill I take every single day. Nope, all they stock is blister packs and they are designed to be childproof and one needs a sharp knife to dig one out of the blister pack. I want to pour one in my hand from a bottle. Go to Amazon there it is. Easy button indeed.

[legion]

You've got to love when a store puts in procedures that prevent you from buying more stuff from them. Sears is the king of this.

[Scott Douglas]

Which model light fixture did you get?
Got a link?

Yesterday my wife told me our Sears store is closing at the local mall so I guess they've been successful at driving customers to the web.

[Evans, Marv]

Yep, Lowes is that way in lots of respects. Years ago when I was building my house, I got some supplies & materials from H.D ($40K+). They would give a good discount on purchases/orders of a certain amount or more. You brought them the list, they gave you a computerized printout listing the price and discounted price along with tax & delivery. I tried Lowes. Brought a list of several thousand dollars worth of materials and turned it in at the "Pro" desk. They told me it would be a day or two, so check back. When I did, they gave me a sloppy, hand written list with full retail prices and a total. Never checked back with them again. For some reason, I just don't get a good "feel" when I walk inside a Lowes store - like it's sort of too sterile. H.D. is sort of cluttered, & I think that makes me feel more comfortable as an environment for pieces, parts, & supplies.

[HardDrive]

We have a local Ace Hardware nearby. Prices are certainly higher than the big box stores, but the staff can immediately help you find items or order them. They have a power equipment shop, and they can take a look at malfunctioning items on the spot. Unless I need materials, I don't bother with the big boxes if I can help it.

I bought a Weber grill from them this past spring. For $50, they had it at my house, hooked up with a tank of propane less than 3 hours after I bought it. Yeah, good luck getting that kind of service at a big box.

[Evans, Marv]

Yeah, I like the Ace Hardware in my area too and give them as much business as I can justify. But as far as materials are concerned, I'll buy 8'X2"X2" at H.D. for 97 cents rather than pay $2.97 ea. at Ace.

[faverymi]

The end of retail as we know it is ending.

Web buying is easy.

Shipping companies will get even bigger.

I think at end we'll click, keep or return.

I went to the mall last weekend, it was pretty sad. I think the DMV is moving in.

[VincentVega]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Yep, Lowes is that way in lots of respects. Years ago when I was building my house, I got some supplies & materials from H.D ($40K+). They would give a good discount on purchases/orders of a certain amount or more. You brought them the list, they gave you a computerized printout listing the price and discounted price along with tax & delivery. I tried Lowes. Brought a list of several thousand dollars worth of materials and turned it in at the "Pro" desk. They told me it would be a day or two, so check back. When I did, they gave me a sloppy, hand written list with full retail prices and a total. Never checked back with them again. For some reason, I just don't get a good "feel" when I walk inside a Lowes store - like it's sort of too sterile. H.D. is sort of cluttered, & I think that makes me feel more comfortable as an environment for pieces, parts, & supplies.

Similar experience here. At the Lowes 'Pro' desk I asked for 10 sqaure of Hardie siding, this color, this size... they had no idea what I was talking about. Ok, in the store is a display saying talk to the Pro desk to get pricing. They call back a day later and the poor guy tried but it was clear Lowes wasnt used to or interested in selling me siding.

[HardDrive]

I feel badly for the employees. I don't think they are trained well or paid well. Often there very few employees on the floor of a massive retail space.

[legion]

Lowe's is closest to my house and the best organized. When time is a factor, I go to Lowe's. It does seem like they have maybe 20 people working there on Saturday morning though, so anything that needs assistance will take a long time (thus negating the reason I'd go there).

Menard's has the biggest inventory (where Lowe's or Home Depot stock 1-2 versions of an item Menard's will have 4-6) and generally the best prices, but the store is not logically organized. If I'm looking for something small and don't already know where it is, it can take me up to an hour to find it. They also seem to like to completely rearrange the whole store every 3-5 years, so if I haven't bought an item in the past 3 years, there's a good chance I don't know where it is anymore. They do seem to have about 200-300 people on staff Saturday mornings, so finding help usually isn't an issue.

Home Depot is across the street from Menard's. They seem to generally have the highest prices and lowest selection. I usually only even bother going there if I can't find something at Menard's or Lowe's.

Ace Hardware is on campus behind a college bar. I usually only go there unless it is the summer.

[hcoles]

We are in the Age of Amazon. If you know what you want and can wait a couple of days it makes sense to shop online. You avoid travel time and associated wear/tear and risk. That being said - it is still fun to go in the store and look around.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

We have a local Ace Hardware nearby. Prices are certainly higher than the big box stores, but the staff can immediately help you find items or order them. They have a power equipment shop, and they can take a look at malfunctioning items on the spot. Unless I need materials, I don't bother with the big boxes if I can help it.

I bought a Weber grill from them this past spring. For $50, they had it at my house, hooked up with a tank of propane less than 3 hours after I bought it. Yeah, good luck getting that kind of service at a big box.

I have a Menards and Home Depot within a mile of my house. I drive about 5 miles to Ace instead.

[Rick Lee]

I went to Lowes yesterday to get a 4x4 cut up into blocks to use for my floor jack and to hold up an amp chassis on my workbench. Employee said their saw won't cut 4x4s anymore and they didn't have anything under 8' anyway. I went across the street to Home Depot, found a short 4x6 in their cull wood. The guy cut it up into four blocks for me and said no charge. Lowes does tend to have good metric hardware, though the local Ace has an even better selection.

[gchappel]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Which model light fixture did you get?
Got a link?

Yesterday my wife told me our Sears store is closing at the local mall so I guess they've been successful at driving customers to the web.

Good Earth Lighting LF1087-NK7-48LF5-G Carlyle 48-in W Nickel LED Flush Mount Light -

Decent light, cri above 80 and dimmable. Just for the garage- will sure be better than a bunch of bare fluorescent bulbs like I have now.
Dang, I thought only our Lowes was worthless.
Gary

[URY914]

Originally Posted by hcoles

That being said - it is still fun to go in the store and look around.

I can spend an hours on Amazon looking at stuff I never even seen in a store.

[Baz]

There are times when I buy from Home Depot online and get free shipping to my home.

The last purchase was a plasma cutter a week ago.

I do enjoy - when time allows - being able to browse in the actual brick/mortar store itself whether HD, Lowe's, or Ace Hardware.

Ace Hardware customer service is great - I gave up on the other two a long time ago.....

[R K T]

After working at home depot for 5 years I won't set foot in one! Once in a while I'll go to Lowes but Ace usually has everything I need and is only a mile away. Ace still knows what customer service is about.

HD employees would go out of the way to avoid customers. I overheard an hd "worker" telling and older woman how to wire and install a ceiling fan and he was telling her exactly how to get electrocuted! I stepped in and told her to please hire a qualified electrician to do the installation and to not listen to this moron. I got written up for disrespecting a fellow worker!

[onewhippedpuppy]

It always amazes me how the tiny Ace nearby always has the hardware that the million square foot big box store doesn't. Sure hardware doesn't pay the bills on that huge store, but if I'm there anyway I'd probably buy more stuff. Oh well.....

[GH85Carrera]

It seems like it will not be long that only thing I buy at the big box stores is bags of soil, concrete, and a few sticks of lumber. It is hard to ship one or two 2x4s, and getting a good straight one would be a real challenge via mail.

I remember the "good ol days" of going into a Radio Shack and asking for something like a thermistor and the employee taking me to the rack and finding just the right one. The last time I was in a Radio Shack I asked about something like that and I might as well asked for a new set of tires. But they are happy to sell some me some batteries!